The best kind of advertising catches your eye, draws you in to the product and leads to a purchase.
Zeno, a new kind of advertising, catches your eye and follows it.
Zeno, which was created and developed in Watervliet uses what Jim Lawyer, one of the company’s principles, called persistence of vision, the series of compressed and stretched images that extends up to 8 feet and creates an illusion of motion when a person walks by it.
The new type of advertisement debuted Thursday, Oct. 22, at Colonie Center. Using Zeno, clients can create the illusion of rotating cars, flipping cell phones, jumping soda cans and more.
The images are simply displayed on a long piece paper. In between the distorted image are several black lines. These lines serve to fool the eye into seeing the image as moving when a person walks past.
`As consumers walk past, something moves with them,` Lawyer said.
The paper is then placed inside two auto-engraved pieces of glass with a light that brightens the image and draws attention.
Lawyer said that this type of advertisement is perfect for a place like Colonie Center, which is now owned by Jones Lang LaSalle. Lawyer said that the thousands of people walking by do not have time to stop and check out more static advertisements.
`Jones Lang LaSalle is consistently on the forefront of new trends in the retail arena, as we know that the landscape is always changing and that staying relevant in the retail industry is the key to success,` said Heather Levesque, regional marketing manager, Jones Lang LaSalle Retail. `Zeno is a unique and fresh advertising medium that has the stopping power brands need. We are excited to launch the Zeno program at Colonie Center.`
Lawyer said Zeno is still fairly new.
`This is a technology that was created just a little over a year ago,` he said. `The possibilities are endless.`
Lawyer would not disclose the price of each advertising machine, but said each one costs, `well over $5,000 each.`
John Rigos, 48, of Hudson, walked past the advertisement at Colonie Center that displayed soda cans jumping up and down toward the middle, where two soda cans jumped up and hit each other in a high-five fashion as one walks past.
`It catches my eye,` Rigos said. `It makes me go, ‘Wow, I haven’t seen something like this before.’`
Rigos said if he were to see an advertisement like it, it would likely encourage him to take a closer look at the product it is advertising.
Larry Williams, 64, of Colonie, said the image was too distorted to encourage him to purchase the products shown.
`It’s different,` he said. `If it was sharper, I’d have noticed it more.`
Jennifer Cole, 24, of Schenectady, said `It’s hard to see.`
Lawyer said he is convinced that more people will be attracted to the advertisements put in the Zeno than not, and that in crowded areas, they will convey product information to those who do not have time to stop and read the signs.
Lawyer said Colonie Center has already purchased five Zeno advertisements that are being installed in the mall in the first week of November. Several more were purchased and being installed in the Times Union Center.` the series of compressed and stretched images that extends up to 8 ft. creates an illusion of motion when a person walks by the advertisement.
As was on display at Colonie Center during the advertisement debut on Thursday, Oct. 22, using Zeno, clients can create the illusions of rotating cars, flipping cell phones, jumping soda cans and more.
The images are simply displayed on a long piece paper. In between the distorted image are several black lines. These lines serve to train the eye to see the image as moving when a person walks past.
`As consumers walk post, something moves with them,` Lawyer said, explaining how the advertisement works.
The paper is then placed inside two auto-engraved pieces of glass with a light that brightens the image and draws a passerby’s attention.
Lawyer said that this type of advertisement is perfect for a place like Colonie Center, with thousands of people walking by, not having time to stop and check out more static advertisements that do not move and do not catch their attention.
As Zeno is the first company to produce such a technology, Lawyer said the advertising product-the only product the company has so far-is still fairly new.
`This is a technology that was created just a little over a year ago,` he said. `The possibilities are endless.`
While Lawyer was hesitant to disclose the price of each advertising machine, he said that each one costs, `well over $5,000 each.`
John Rigos, 48, of Hudson, walked past the advertisement that displayed soda cans jumping up and down toward the middle, where two soda cans jumped up and hit each other in a high-five fashion as one continues to walk past the ad.
`It catches my eye,` Rigos said. `It makes me go, ‘Wow, I haven’t seen something like this before.`
Rigos said that after seeing this advertisement, if he were to see an advertisement like it in the mall, it would most likely encourage him to purchase whatever product it is advertising.
Larry Williams, 64, of Colonie, said the image was too distorted to encourage him to purchase the products shown on the advertisement.
`It’s different,` he said. `If it was sharper I’d have noticed it more.`
Jennifer Cole, 24, of Schenectady, also said `It’s hard to see,` explaining that if you are standing still in one spot it is somewhat difficult to make out the image being displayed.
One passerby said, `It’s making me dizzy,` when they watched the cans bounce as they walked by.
But Lawyer is convinced that more people will be attracted to the advertisements put in the Zeno than not, and that especially in crowded areas, they will achieve the purpose of advertising for those who do not have time to stop and read the signs.
Lawyer said Colonie Center has already purchased five Zeno advertisements that are being installed in the mall in the first week of November. Several more were purchased and being installed in the Times Union Center.“